New York State briefs

Friday

Jul 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 27, 2007 at 2:32 PM

Who's stealing veterans' garveside markers?

GateHouse News Service

MIA: Veterans' grave makers
NEW HARTFORD —Bronze veterans' service markers are disappearing from gravesides, and cemetery officials believe the thieves are selling the metal rods as scrap.
The most recent thefts from Calvary Cemetery on Oneida Street netted more than 300 bronze rods, leaving the flags and veterans' emblems the rods hold scattered in the grass, officials said.
The bronze markers, which are usually provided or sold by veterans' organizations, weigh several pounds, said Fred Williams, commander of American Legion Post 1376 of New Hartford. Scrap metal dealers estimate bronze is going for about $2 per pound, meaning markers could sell for about $5.

Don't drive drunk here
CANANDAIGUA — For the 24th consecutive year, the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office had the highest conviction rate in the state for driving while intoxicated charges, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
In 2006, 457 alcohol-related driving convictions were reported in Ontario County. Of that total, 432, or 94.5 percent, were convicted as charged of DWI, and 25 were convicted of the lesser offense of driving while ability impaired.
The 94.5 percent conviction rate was the highest rate ever recorded in New York, topping last year’s conviction rate of 93.3 percent. Yates County had the second highest conviction rate, at 86.7 percent, and Wayne County came in third, at 75.7 percent.
Overall, the statewide conviction rate was 46.7 percent, the figures show.

Whodunnit? The dog
ILION — According to authorities, a fawn that was killed on Ilion Fish and Game Club land was not killed by a bullet as previously believed.
The fawn had been found by a dog owned by Thomas Matthews and when a hole was found in the fawn's back, club member's believed it was a bullet hole.
Department of Environmental Protection Officer Todd Richards took the fawn as evidence to the DEC Wildlife Forensic Pathology Lab in Delmar. Tests showed a canine bit both sides of the fawn's spine, damaged several ribs and penetrated the fawn's thorax. X-rays did not reveal any firearm projectile or fragments.
Richards re-interviewed Matthews, who admitted to Richards the dog must have killed the fawn when it was running out of sight. Matthews was issued a ticket for allowing dogs to run at large on lands inhabited by deer.

Anything for Krystle
IRONDEQUOIT — Eileen Hoffman wanted to somehow repay her neighbors for all of their support.
The Better Contractors Bureau, based here, had reached out to share its members' skills to help the Hoffmans' daughter, Krystle.
Krystle has cerebral palsy and had contracted a lung infection that prevented her from going upstairs in her family's split-level house. Krystle, now 22, is confined to a wheelchair, needs oxygen and is tube-fed, her mother said.
The bureau and its members stepped in to create a first-floor room and accessible bathroom for Krystle in the Hoffman family's former garage. That had to be gutted, and that's where the neighbors came in.
Men, women and kids showed up. "They're always ready to help," Eileen Hoffman said.
So she nominated her neighborhood for one of WBEE radio station's "summertime block parties." It won, and the party was held July 18, with the main tent sent up on the Hoffman family's lawn.

Honeybees have friends in high places
HAMLIN — Beekeepers, orchardists and farmers are making headway lobbying for money to address a disease killing honeybees. New York Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton announced on Monday that theSenate Appropriations Committee has approved $1.5 million for research into colony collapse disorder.
CCD causes bees to disappear from their hives, leaving their food stores behind. In an affected hive, there are no bee carcasses, so researchers have had a difficult time eliminating possible causes for the disease.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that New York's honey production in 2006 dropped 12% from 2005. Last year, some upstate beekeepers lost up to 90% of their honeybees, said Jim Doan of Hamlin. Doan, one of the area's largest honeybee farmers, lost 70% of his own bees last year, he said.

New Kodak camera
ROCHESTER — A Kodak camera for novices will be available for sale next month for $99 or less.
Called the Kodak Easyshare C513, it is said to emloy easy-to-use, intuitive technology.
The camera is equipped with the new Kodak KAC-05011 CMOS image sensor and provides 5-megapixel resolution and a 3x optical zoom lens. Pictures are displayed on a 2.4-inch indoor-outdoor LCD screen. Its Digital Image Stabilization feature helps reduce blur caused by camera or subject movement as a still picture is being taken. Consumers can also record video, capture audio and do on-camera editing.

Sir, where's your lawn?
LYONS — Wayne County sheriff's deputies charged a Lyons man with driving while intoxicated Thursday afternoon for allegedly driving his Cub Cadet lawn tractor drunk down a road.
Floyd Sincerbeaux, 29, of 1 Butternut St., was driving south on Leach Road at about 2:30 p.m. when Deputy Rachel Colella caught up with him. She reported he admitted that he had been drinking and was on his way to a relative's home in Geneva, several miles away, deputies said.
Sincerbeaux was also charged with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and ticketed with unlicensed operator and driving an unregistered, uninspected and uninsured motor vehicle.
Sincerbeaux was arraigned in Lyons Town Court and sent to the Wayne County Jail in lieu of bail.
Lt. Robert Hetzke said though the arrest is unusual, it is not a first. "We've had lawn mowers, we've had people on tractors," he said. "If it's used for a mode of transportation, they can be charged."